Wednesday 30 October 2013

What can you learn from Harry Potter?

Sometimes nothing is more inspiring than reading a good book with a good message. For me, one of these is the Harry Potter book series and it seems an appropriate thing to discuss seeing as Halloween is just around the corner! I do LOVE the Harry Potter films but I just think that there's a lot missing that movie exclusive fans just don't know about! There are so many messages that you can learn from the books, here a just a few of my favourites (if you haven't read the books or watched the films BEWARE there are spoilers!):

1) The Importance of Love and Friendship
This is not something that just appears here and there but is core to the whole book series itself. If Lily had not sacrificed herself for Harry, there would be a completely different story! And it's this ability to love that sets Harry apart from Voldemort. Also, I think the books give an accurate representation of true friendship. Through all the fights and quarrels and arguments; Hermione and Ron stuck by Harry; a friendship that can sometimes be hard to find in real life. Had Hermione and Ron not helped, may be Harry would have never found those horcruxes!

2) Choices
Right from the start, when Harry first arrived at Hogwarts and first put on the Sorting Hat, he decided he wanted to be in Gryffindor House. That choice probably was one of the best ones he made as not only did he grow into a great wizard (god knows what would have happened had he been in Slytherin!) he also met Ron, Hermione, Neville and all of his other friends. Lily chose to sacrifice herself for Harry; Severus Snape chose to act as a spy for Dumbledore's Army and Ron and Hermione chose to support Harry on his mission. I feel as this is something that you can relate to in life. Whether your 15 or 55, your always faced with decisions in your life. Hard choices. Easy choices. Irreversible choices. Bad choices and good choices. You've just got to hope that you've made the right ones. 

3) Don't Judge a Book by it's Cover
Severus Snape was always made out to be a villain right from the start when Harry first laid eyes on him. And then when we found out that Snape had put a spell on Harry's broom in his first quidditch match, I really didn't like him! Then when he killed Dumbledore, I detested the guy! It's not till the very end, that you realise what his true intentions were, and by then it was too late and you kind of feel guilty for how much you hated him. 

4) Self-belief
Confidence is very important throughout the books. Look at Hermione, not only is she extremely clever, she trusts her own capability. Neville lacked the self belief in the first few books but we were able to see how he grew into great adult and became a prominent member of Dumbledore's Army just because he started trusting his own abilities. 





So what do you think about the Harry Potter franchise? Have you read the books? What have you learnt from them? Leave a comment below!




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Sunday 20 October 2013

Secrets...



There are many things that people choose not to discuss for whatever reason. This may be because they are ashamed or because they feel as if they would be judged if someone was to find out. They may choose to keep it to themselves or tell a select few who they trust.

But sometimes, its better to let others know of what's going on. You don't have to struggle alone and people may not judge you like you may think. You should always know that there is someone out there who is willing to listen regardless of how big or small your secret may be.
So that's why I have decided to share three secrets with you that I have never mentioned to anyone. You may want to read about them or you may not; and you may judge me and you may not, but it's sometimes good to share your feelings. 

1) I was bullied for a long time from the age of around 12-14 years old. I don't really want to go all that much into it because it kind of sucked. But yeh, I never told my parents or teachers as I really didn't want to make a big deal of it. I used to just let them get it out of their system and ignore it until, eventually they got bored and stopped. My friends obviously knew it was going on but they too, just chose to ignore it and it was never mentioned, ever. Looking back, I don't know whether I did the right thing by just letting them get away with it but I was young and really didn't know what to do or who to talk to. I guess I never told anyone because I was ashamed and felt that somehow I had brought it on myself and I never liked looking weak.

2) I find it hard to forgive people once they break my trust. I may say that I forgive you or things are 'just the same as they used to be' but at the back of my head I'm always thinking of that one time things went wrong. I'm really trying to work on this as it can really cloud my judgement. For example, one of the people who used to bully me (as I mentioned in my first secret) is now part of my 'friendship group' and to be honest, I really don't like her. I mean she may have changed but I hate that I can't move on from the past. 

3) This blog is a secret. No one, not even my family or friends know this blog exists. And I kind of like it that way. I can talk about things with people that I know won't judge me as much as real life people may.  I like that I can make friends on here and meet knew people who have similar interests. The only reason I don't really tell people about this blog, as its my place and I can discuss my thoughts. 



So now that I have discussed some personal things with you, tell me what you think about the issue? Is it better sometimes to discuss secrets? Feel free to leave a comment or share your own secret...



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